Cool Yule
Tis the season to be stylish—fa la la la la, la la la la. And who better to help set the festive fashion agenda than 15 of China’s top models. Under the sartorial guidance of our fashion directorat-large, Justine Lee, and fashion editor, Rosana Lai, these catwalk superstars rocked new season designs in our alternative Christmas fashion shoot, The Big Easy.
“Style isn’t always about glitz and glamour,” Justine told me as she prepared for her biggest shoot of the year. “During the Christmas party season, it’s easy to get a little carried away with the sequins and sparkle, but I’m a big believer that less is more.” Turn to page 88 to check out Justine’s showcase of unexpected holiday style modelled by Hao Ru, He Jing, Jia Li, Gong, Ni Haoran and Xie Shenpeng, to name but a few.
That these young mainland models are now in such demand by luxury brands and fashion magazines around the world is thanks in part to this issue’s cover star, Chen Man. The 38-yearold photographer was instrumental in putting Chinese photography and models on the global fashion map with her wildly original, culturally provocative, attention-grabbing images and postproduction wizardry. In Calling the Shots (p.160), she talks to arts and culture editor Oliver Giles about using her fame for good and reveals what might be her biggest project yet.
We end the year with a look at three hot new luxury resorts making waves in Bali—capella Ubud, Como Uma Canggu and Six Senses Uluwatu (p.180)—and Paul Kay gives us the lowdown on Wonderfruit (p.168), an innovative art, music and food festival, which takes place in Thailand this month with a kicking line-up that includes drum ’n’ bass pioneer Goldie, British electronic music producer Nightmares on Wax and tech-house star Craig Richards.
We’ll be back in January with our annual Asia’s Most Stylish fashion shoot, which celebrates the region’s best-dressed women. Until then, stay warm, stay cool.